Released doesn't mean irrevocably gone. It means he is gone for the time being, and can be re-signed by any team- including the Packers. AJ Hawk was also released, and then re-signed a day or two later. Hopefully this will be the case. This is a cold, calculated move, in a cold, calculating league. His age and contract made it clear he was the logical choice to be let go. This has been discussed several times. This give the team mor than $10 million in extra cap space. Will Cobb be next? He'd save them about 9.5 million. And if both of these guys were gone, the dead cap would "only" be around $6 million. Nelson also turns 33 in a couple months, while Cobb is only going to be 28.

Apparently, according to NFLN (this is literally happening as I type) Graham is going to be signed to a three year contract. Don't panic, folks. This will be heavily tilted in the PAckers favor, no matter what the original numbers sound like. Is this a good move? We'll see if Nelson can be retained at a lower amount. Did Nelson balk at re-negotiating his contract? We'll see.

Also, we were always complainng about TT not being active enough in FA. Well, doing that requires money. So, you get rid of a great Packer and bring in someone you hope will give you a better chance at reaching the SB.

Reading the Packers press release, not holding my breath that he will be back. They didn't just decide to do this today, if being back was an option I would believe he would of just taken a paycut and the Packers wouldn't have 2.5M in dead money.

Nelson was a great Packer, but he clearly lost a step. He had 53 catches and a total 118 Yards after the catch last year. Both Allison and Martellus Bennett had more YAC. He is a Packer legend but clearly wasnt playing up to the 10 mill contract. Tough to swallow but its time. He was a great Packer. They need a bigger threat than Nelson was last year. Expect a WR early in the draft.

1. Not a classier guy who I liked and respected more during my era as a Packer fan than Jordy. What a treat he's been as a Packer, as a player, and as an individual.

2. But I don't blame Gute at all on this. Jordy was done, IMO. Use that cash on somebody else.

3. As to Graham vs Jordy, I have no idea, Graham may be done too for all I know. But, you don't need to run as fast to play TE. HOpefully that's going to prove to be a good move.

4. I assume Graham will be considerably cheaper than Jordy's contract was.

5. I don't really, yet, but I sure WANT to trust that Gute and his advisors know what they are doing and are going to make good choices. I sincerely hope that Gute knows what he's doing, and and the next several years will vindicate that he's a good/wise/smart decision-maker.

6. I'm much happier releasing Jordy than Cobb. On weeks when he's healthy, Cobb still has some moves, and he's younger. Jordy just couldn't get any separation anymore.

7. I think Kendricks at TE set such a low bar, Graham has a chance to be a big step up. Think Graham has a chance to elevate the production significantly.

8. Geronimo/Davis is a pretty low-bar at WR. Will be fun to see how they fill that. But I sure wanted to add some speed and ability out there.

9. Now sure who's left as WR targets, or whether they'll just target with draft. But I think for an aspiring but not super-expensive WR, Green Bay would be a super-attractive career opportunity. Might not need to grossly overpay to get somebody who'd love to play with Rodgers, and need only to beat out Davis and Geronimo to get tons of snaps.

TomSilverstein 25m25 minutes agoMoreThe fact #Packers WR Jordy Nelson was released means his career with them is over. If they intended to bring him back at lower cost they would have changed the existing deal.

1. Not a classier guy who I liked and respected more during my era as a Packer fan than Jordy. What a treat he's been as a Packer, as a player, and as an individual.

2. But I don't blame Gute at all on this. Jordy was done, IMO. Use that cash on somebody else.

3. As to Graham vs Jordy, I have no idea, Graham may be done too for all I know. But, you don't need to run as fast to play TE. HOpefully that's going to prove to be a good move.

4. I assume Graham will be considerably cheaper than Jordy's contract was.

5. I don't really, yet, but I sure WANT to trust that Gute and his advisors know what they are doing and are going to make good choices. I sincerely hope that Gute knows what he's doing, and and the next several years will vindicate that he's a good/wise/smart decision-maker.

6. I'm much happier releasing Jordy than Cobb. On weeks when he's healthy, Cobb still has some moves, and he's younger. Jordy just couldn't get any separation anymore.

7. I think Kendricks at TE set such a low bar, Graham has a chance to be a big step up. Think Graham has a chance to elevate the production significantly.

8. Geronimo/Davis is a pretty low-bar at WR. Will be fun to see how they fill that. But I sure wanted to add some speed and ability out there.

9. Now sure who's left as WR targets, or whether they'll just target with draft. But I think for an aspiring but not super-expensive WR, Green Bay would be a super-attractive career opportunity. Might not need to grossly overpay to get somebody who'd love to play with Rodgers, and need only to beat out Davis and Geronimo to get tons of snaps.